


the heart of lightning

by awaisumi



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Crack, F/M, Heartbreak, Moving On, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23747110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awaisumi/pseuds/awaisumi
Summary: She thought that she would miss them, but in the end, it became quite the opposite.Natsu leaves Lucy behind because she seems weak. So instead, Lucy goes to someone to become strong.A small and short fanfiction about Laxus and Lucy from Fairy Tail.  The characters may be a little ooc because it's been a while since reading the manga!
Relationships: Laxus Dreyar/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 151





	1. Returning Home

"Happy look!!! Fairy Tail is just down the street!" Natsu laughs, "It looks the same since we left it!". Natsu and Happy gleefully skipped along the road towards the famed guild.

Erza sighed, "You'd think after all this time they would have matured by now."

"Mature? Them?" Gray scoffed incredulously, crossing his arms.

"Natsu is always very fun though!" Wendy giggles, Carla sitting neatly on top of her head.

It is good to be home, Erza muses. The guild looked the same; it was slightly more run down, probably because of some random fights caused by various guild members, but it still looked as warm and welcoming as ever. Erza glanced at her group of nakama as they all strolled towards the guild. They all had grown considerably stronger. Erza had mastered several new extremely powerful sets of armor. Natsu had mastered his Dragon Force. Gray's Ice Make was now flawless. Wendy had mastered her Dragon Force as well.

"Erza! Hurry up!" Natsu called, "I can finally see Lucy again!" Natsu and the others had already arrived at the giant front door of Fairy Tail; Erza had lagged behind, distracted by her thoughts.

Erza jogged to the door. Lucy...I wonder how she is... Erza wondered as Natsu threw the doors to Fairy Tail wide open. A resounding cheer erupted from the guild as they spotted who had returned.

5 Years Ago

"You're leaving me here?" The fight had left her voice.

"It's too dangerous, we might not even come back." Erza said softly.

"You know that's not true. I know I'm not strong enough, I can learn! I can!" Her voice began trembling.

"I don't think it's a good idea either..." Natsu said, not meeting her eyes.

Lucy sniffed.

"We'll bring gifts back! I just think you'll be safer here!" Natsu looked earnestly at Lucy.

"We won't be long." Gray sighed.

"It'll be quick." Erza added.

"It will be like a dream, just like you're waking up." Natsu hugged Lucy, and Lucy cried into his shoulder.

The following day, they were all at the train station, ready to leave.

"You'll be back." Lucy stated, with a hopeful smile on her face.

"Before you know it". Gray gave a quick hug to Lucy before he stepped onto the train.

"I'll write letters!" Wendy smiled and wrapped her arms around Lucy in a hug before hopping onto the train.

Erza gave Lucy a quick squeeze, "Don't worry", Erza said reassuringly before following Wendy.

"Luce." Natsu said, turning Lucy's attention away from Erza's retreating back.

"Natsu?" Lucy tilted her head quizzically.

Suddenly, Natsu leaned forward and held Lucy in a tight hug, "I'm sorry we're leaving you behind." There was genuine regret in his voice.

"If you ever need me, I'll be right here." Lucy felt her heart ache. After a few moments, Natsu reluctantly loosened his grasp, and stepped onto the train.

"Oh wait, Luce!" Natsu shouted, "Here!" Natsu tossed a shimmering box into Lucy's hands. Natsu grinned from ear to ear and waved as the train began moving.

"Wait Natsu!!!" Lucy began frantically waving, "What is it?!" Lucy shook her head, "I'll miss you guys! Come back soon!"

Erza looked out the window at the blonde with tears streaming blatantly down her face. Natsu continued waving until Lucy wasn't in sight any more. He sat down in his seat with a glum expression, and he also was ready to vomit.

"I miss her already." Natsu said gloomily, his hand to his mouth.

Erza scanned the room for their joyful blonde, she assumed Lucy would be the first to shout and wrap them in hugs. But before any of the crew could find their missing member, they were quickly swamped by the many members of Fairy Tail.

After the clamor of excitement died down, a party for their arrival was quickly planned to occur later that evening. Wendy had disappeared; Carla explaining that she had something to attend to. Gray was occupied with Juvia who wouldn't let him go. Natsu and Erza were at the bar drinking with Cana.

"Where's Luce?" Natsu asked, downing his third tankard of beer.

"You haven't seen her?" Cana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Natsu shook his head; he couldn't smell her either.

"S-Class mages do tend to lurk in the shadows." Cana signaled to Mirajane for another beer.

Natsu and Erza did a double take. "S-Class?!" They exclaimed in unison, eyes wide.

Cana laughed, "How far were you from Fiore? Lucy is now the strongest mage of all of Magnolia! Heck! All of Fiore!" She clinked her tankard with an imaginary figure that no one could see; Cana was definitely drunk.

S-Class? We weren't even gone for that long. Were we? Thoughts were running through Natsu's head a mile a minute. Then she must be... Natsu looked up towards the second floor balcony of Fairy Tail.

Natsu always imagined that when he saw Lucy again, they would laugh and hug like the old times. When Natsu looked up at the second balcony, he found the blonde occupied in a conversation with someone who was in the shadows, making it impossible to discern who. She was leaning against the pristine white railing and she was dressed in a pale blue bikini top with some denim shorts. She had a shimmering thin anklet around her left ankle, with indiscernible charms hanging on the thin gold chain. Her hair was much longer, it reached down to her mid thigh! It was flowing and she had also grown her bangs out. Her hair had also become a deeper blonde, not quite the light blonde he remembered years ago.

"She's different." Erza said quietly.

Cana gave a loud laugh, "You all have changed as well!" , she gulped some of her beer down. "A year after you left, Lucy cleaned herself up and trained to exhaustion. She rose in the ranks. She became the top, and she got another one of the strongest mages as a partner. They make so much money." Cana muttered the last statement quietly, perhaps with a twinge of jealousy.

"The Heart of Lightning." Erza said thoughtfully.

"Who?" Natsu asked, still trying to absorb the information drunk Cana had dumped on them.

Erza facepalmed, "Natsu do you ever keep up with the current news? Even though we weren't in Fiore, other countries were receiving news about a mage duo dubbed "The Heart of Lightning". There were rumors... I didn't realize the duo was from our own guild." Erza glanced up at the second floor balcony.

"Whose Lucy's new partner then?"

"Laxus Dreyar." Cana eyed Natsu, "Laxus and Lucy, The Heart of Lightning, the heart of Fairy Tail." She placed her tankard down and motioned for a refill from Mirajane.


	2. Homecoming

"They're back." Lucy said stiffly, standing up from her seat, sensing the presence of mages entering from the shipyard.

"Bunny, they won't arrive at the building until much later." Laxus said without looking up from the newspaper he was engrossed in.

Lucy walked to the railing that overlooked the main hall of Fairy Tail. It was so long ago when she had sat down there among them, laughing. She paused. Why did they leave me here for so long? A punch or two in their face would feel fun. Lucy giggled to herself a little.

"What's so funny, Bunny?" Laxus looked over his newspaper.

"Nothing," Lucy said innocently, a small smile lingering on her lips.

"Don't do anything dumb, Lucy." Laxus stood up and walked slowly towards the railing besides her. He leaned against it, looking at the same scene as Lucy.

"I can't even rough them up just a little?" Lucy grinned teasingly, watching Mirajane pour some alcohol into Cana's cup.

"Makarov banned you from fights." Laxus shifted closer to Lucy, their shoulders touching.

"You break his rules all the time!" Lucy whined, playfully punching his arm.

Laxus gave a sideway glance at the blonde beauty, "But I'm not as reckless as you."

"You're the most reckless in battles."

"I'm actually a very good strategist."

A laugh. "You? A strategist?"

Laxus raised an eyebrow at Lucy, "Are you mocking me?"

"I love to mock you." Lucy smiled a wide smile up at the tall blonde, her full attention focused on him. But before Laxus could say a retort, Lucy held her hand up to his mouth.

"Wait. They're here." Lucy moved to get a better view of the front door. Laxus followed suit.

"How much stronger are they?" Laxus asked. Lucy had honed her ability to sense the presence of other magic users in a large radius, but she wasn't only limited to that. Lucy had also mastered the ability to sense how great the magic user's magic power is, creating a perfect skill to measure how strong or threatening an opponent is. Even though he wouldn't always admit it aloud, Lucy had become extremely skilled and powerful.

"They all improved a lot." Lucy muttered, focused on her task at hand, "Although, even with all of their power combined, they don't come close to your power."

Laxus was surprised. All of them combined? Had he really gotten that strong in the past years? If they don't even measure up close to me, Lucy could demolish them easily.

"Easy meat." Lucy read Laxus' mind. Just as those words left Lucy's mouth, the doors to Fairy Tail swung wide open.

The excitement within Fairy Tail soared to the sky at the sight of their returning members. Cheers and cups clinking together rang through the building.

"We're home!" Natsu shouted, throwing his hands up into the air. Lucy studied the salmon haired mage. He looked the same, same vest, same baggy pants. A cheeky smile painted onto his face. The same fire-breathing dork.

"He's still a dumb idiot eh?" Laxus muttered to himself. He turned to Lucy, "Are you gonna say hi to Wendy?"

Lucy nodded. She was only excited to see Wendy.

Laxus nudged Lucy and motioned towards the stairs. The blue haired mage was walking up the stairs. "Who let you up here, Midget?"

"Laxus, I would have thought you would've grown up and stop the name calling." Carla, who was sitting on Wendy's head, shook her head disapprovingly. Wendy's eyes lit up at the sight of Lucy.

"Lucy!" Wendy rushed past Laxus and gave Lucy a big hug, "I've missed you!"

Lucy returned the hug, "Mirajane let you up here didn't she?". Carla nodded, still glaring at Laxus, who in turn, proceeded to flip Carla off.

"Are you excited for the Grand Magic Games?" Wendy said excitedly, jumping up and down.

Lucy laughed a little, "That isn't until the end of the year!"

"Well, I definitely can't wait for it." Wendy said, a little dejected after the reminder.

"Bunny!" Laxus had picked up his newspaper and put on his coat, "We're going before Makarov makes me stay for the inevitable party." But in truth, Laxus did not enjoy the company of Carla much.

"Yeah Laxus. Sorry Wendy, I've got to go now." Lucy patted her blue hair.

"It's alright...I'll see you later okay?" Wendy smiled again and bounced downstairs. Carla looked as if she was going to ask Lucy something, but she quickly followed Wendy downstairs.

Lucy watched as the youthful mage bounced to the first floor. Laxus rested his hand on Lucy's shoulder. "You aren't gonna say hello to the rest of them?"

Lucy shook her head, and Laxus scoffed. Lucy turned to face Laxus.

"Let's go."

"Not even a little wave?" He grinned a little, showing sharp fangs.

"They never sent me even one letter, Laxus." Her eyebrows creased.

"I'm just teasing." He playfully punched her shoulder.

"Ouch!" Lucy yelped, gripping her shoulder in mock pain. She then quickly grabbed Laxus' hand before he could react.

"Eh-"

Lucy began pulling Laxus towards the exit that was on the second floor of the guild, "Let's go to the new ice cream place! After all, you did injure me quite badly on my shoulder." Lucy grinned at Laxus, clearly wanting to get away before Team Natsu could confront her.

"So it's not because you want to go with me?" Laxus asked jokingly.

"Nope! It's because you're buying!" Lucy winked at him, smiling.

Laxus groaned, but allowed him to be pulled by his bunny. He would never get tired of her smile. 

***

Back at the guild, Natsu was still very much surprised at this sudden revelation by the drunk mage.

"Laxus?!" Natsu paused for a moment, "I bet with all my training I could beat him now." Natsu suddenly became fired up at the thought of a duel.

Cana laughed boisterously, all of the heads in the guild suddenly turning to her, "Laxus could end you with a flick of his finger!" The rest of the guild murmured in agreement, some chuckling at the thought of Natsu taking on the blonde dragon.

"What? But I got so much stronger!" Happy confirmed with a nod, joining the conversation.

"You know, Lucy could beat you in mere seconds!" Cana laughed aloud again, her beer spilling from her barrel.

"It'd be best if you didn't get incapacitated this soon in coming home." Erza said, setting her wine glass down.

Natsu looked confused, "But I did get stronger Erza!", he huffed a little, dejected.

"Why don't you go talk to her? The party isn't starting for another hour." Erza suggested, getting up, "I need to talk to Master."

"Yeah! Let's go find Luce, Happy!" They both immediately bolted out the door. Erza nodded to Cana, who said a quick slurred bye. The red haired woman began heading towards Makarov's office.

Natsu couldn't imagine it. He had always saved Lucy, but the other way around? The Heart of Lightning. It was much catchier than Team Natsu.

"Lucy loves ice cream, maybe she's there?" The blue exceed who had been sitting on his shoulder interrupted Natsu's thoughts. Happy was pointing to a chic little ice cream store that had a long line outside of the door, it seemed to be a new establishment.

"Maybe they have fish ice cream!" Happy mused, drool coming from his mouth. Natsu, still lost in his thoughts, began heading towards the ice cream store.

***

"Wahh!!! Laxus! Look at all these flavors!" Lucy's eyes were wide, and she was pointing to the array of ice cream flavors offered. They were at the front of the line, and Lucy quickly began listing her order to the cashier. Laxus was observing quietly beside her. They had gone home to their apartment because she wanted to change her clothes. She was comfortably wearing his plain grey sweater with light-wash jeans.

"Come on Laxus!" She began walking towards a booth in the back corner with the ice cream at hand.

"What did you get me?"

"Your favorite flavors obviously. Pecan and cherry ice cream." She handed him his ice cream cup as they sat on one side of the booth together with their backs facing the front of the shop.

"Cotton candy and salted caramel. Always too sweet." Laxus looked out of the window that faced the street.

"Hey! I didn't get just that this time!" Lucy shoved her ice cream cup next to his face so he could see. Laxus glanced at her ice cream, the only difference was that she added marshmallows on top.

He then proceeded to use his spoon and steal a huge clump of ice cream from her cup and placed it in his mouth, sweetness flooding his mouth.

'Eh- EHHHH!" Lucy realized a third of her ice cream was gone, her jaw dropped to the floor.

"Laxus!!!!" Lucy whined, mourning the loss of some of her ice cream.

Laxus patted her head, not regretting his crime at all. Lucy suddenly tensed.

"Bunny?" Laxus eyed Lucy.

"Na-" The blonde haired mage was cut off my a loud shout.

"LUCCCCYYYY!" Lucy shuffled a littler closer to Laxus, not turning around to meet the shout.

Laxus turned his head discreetly to see the intruder coming into Tono's Cafe.

It was none other than the fire breathing idiot.

***

"Can you see her?" Happy and Natsu had just entered Tono's Cafe.

"Can't you see all these flavors?! Maybe they have fish flavor?" Happy instantly forgot why they were here.

"LUCCCCYYYY!" Natsu yelled, gathering the attention of everyone in the small ice cream store.

No Lucy came out, however, when he scanned the room, he caught a head of blonde hair, a rather pale blonde hair whose owner was hidden behind the seat of the booth. Laxus?

***

Lucy gripped Laxus' hand as Natsu approached their table. Laxus looked down at the petite blonde, expecting to see nervousness, but she seemed...excited?

"I promise I won't punch him." Lucy looked up to Laxus, meeting his gaze and winking.

"Laxus ha- Lucy?" Natsu stuttered, surprised to see the celestial mage beside Laxus.

"Dragon head! Came to feed your blue pet?" Laxus mocked; Lucy kicked Laxus' leg under the table, but casually continuing to eat her ice cream.

"Lucy..." Natsu looked at Lucy, confused.

"Hello." Lucy looked to meet Natsu's eyes, cocking her eyebrow.

"You smell different."

Lucy smirked, "I switched the shampoo I use since you left."

Natsu quieted, his nose flaring a little. Laxus smiled inwardly. Lucy smelled like him, and Natsu was clearly even more confused. Lucy looked expectantly at Natsu, a little puzzled by his sudden silence.

"Sit idiot." Laxus motioned to the empty seat in front of them.

***

Natsu sat. Natsu was thoroughly shocked. This was why it took him so long to find Lucy. Her citrus and flowery scent was much fainter, much much fainter. Gone were her sweet scents. It was replaced by the smells of vanilla and jasmine; it was elegant, but accompanied by her new scents was a much more masculine tone. It was a tone that claimed her. A scent that marked territory, tones of amber and herbs. A combination of scents that Natsu associated with...Laxus.

"How was your vacation?" Laxus asked Natsu lazily, his arm moved to drape over Lucy's shoulder

"It wasn't a vacation! It was an important mission!" Natsu retorted to Laxus, a little ticked off. Natsu looked at the blonde pair. Lucy was eating her ice cream calmly, her ears attentively listening to the current conversation. She was wearing an oversized grey coat that was evidently not hers; her hair was tied to the side and she looked adorably disheveled, her hair a little messy. Laxus was wearing a plain black shirt with a thin silver necklace underneath. They looked...too comfortable. She was sitting too snugly against the taller man, and he was leaning much too close to her. Natsu felt an uneasy feeling in him, in his heart.

"An important mission you say? Did you fight some terrible monster that would have ended the world? Or was it just some intel gathering?" Laxus grinned when he saw Natsu become a little angry, "Aw, poor Natsu only went on an intel gathering mission. Then why couldn't you have brought Lucy?"

Lucy looked up from her ice cream and looked at Natsu, her chocolate eyes were actually intimidating.

"I heard some rumors flying this morning. Contrary to popular belief, it seems they weren't fighting some otherworldly being." Laxus looked out the window at the street lit by the moonlight., then turned his eye in suspicion towards Natsu.

"It was dangerous!" Happy had arrived to the secluded booth, sitting on the bench beside Natsu. The blue haired cat continued, "It was scary Lucy!"

"It would have been too dangerous Lucy." Natsu's voice was tight.

"Yo. Natsu." Her voice was still as soothing as it was years ago. He looked at her.

"Luce?" He was hoping for something, forgiveness? His gaze locked onto hers.

She smiled widely and leaned closely, her eyes shining, "Fight me!"

"Eh?" Natsu's eyes widened.

Laxus laughed, his voice booming around the small room.


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

"Are you insane?" Mirajane was even aghast.

Natsu's head was throbbing in a headache, this morning was not his morning.

News had spread like wildfire through Fiore overnight. The huge fight between Heart of Lightning's Heartfilia vs. Salamander was scheduled a week from this Sunday. It was arranged so that it would be held in the main arena outside of Fairy Tail, with a festival held before the fight. Natsu scratched his head in annoyance; he did not expect Lucy to challenge him last night, and he accepted it without thinking. Lucy and Laxus had left after that, with Lucy waving goodbye giddily.

"I told you not to do anything rash." Erza was rubbing her temples.

They were gathered in Master's office, with Team Natsu and a couple of other mages thinking about the current situation.

"I've trained! I'm strong; I mastered the Dragon Force." Natsu said to no one in particular, mostly in an effort to reassure himself.

"She could beat you down within seconds of the match, before you can even activate it." Master dismissed.

"But Lucy would not." Juvia chimed in, "Juvia has become very close to Lucy; Juvia knows Lucy will drag the battle out because Lucy enjoys playing cat and mouse, and Lucy is always the cat."

***

The sun was streaming through the white blinds covering the window. The little rays of light danced upon the white sheets of the bed, and a soft melody played from the lacrima radio. It was an instrumental ballad with light, feathery notes. A smell was permeating through the room, a smell of breakfast cooking on the stove, and a voice was humming a tune that carried through the small apartment. It was a pleasant voice. Laxus turned over in his bed, his back against the bedding, eyes still closed. Laxus sighed, contented.

4 years ago

Laxus was taking a walk along the pier of Magnolia, thoroughly annoyed. Taking over the guild? The old man must be crazy. Laxus huffed, Fairy Tail was insane. Surely Gildarts would be better suited? Laxus paused. Someone else was here. He looked at the pier.

He wasn't walking along the newer pier; he was walking along the old abandoned posts. Many wooden posts poking out of the clear waters, with birds perched at the top of them..and there was a girl sitting on top of one of the posts that was further out of the water. She was silent, looking out at the crashing waves. Her hair was flowing, illuminated by the setting sun. Her white dress picked up the hues of the sun, reflecting oranges and pinks, the long fabric flowing parallel with her hair.

Laxus didn't know what compelled him, but he hopped from the pier onto one of the wooden posts, then to another, then another, until he was perched on a post right next to the girl.

"Yo." Laxus said.

"Ack!" Clearly startled, the blonde lost her balance...and fell into the water.

Laxus laughed aloud, chortling noisily, now that he got a closer look, it was none other than the resident Fairy Tail celestial mage.

"What the heck?" Angry chocolate eyes stared up at him, her hair soaked. Her eyes suddenly widened at who had frightened her, "Laxus?"

"It seems you got a little wet." Laxus smirked, "So incapable." He winked at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Help me up!"

Laxus held his hand out for her, but when she reached, he immediately retracted his arm, earning a disgruntled huff from Lucy.

"Meanie." Lucy whined. She attempted to climb up the log, which she failed miserably.

Laxus found it endearing and laughed a little.

"Such a high and mighty mage but you can't manage to help a damsel in distress?" Lucy mocked, trying to bait him into pulling her back up.

"No thanks." He laughed again, and proceeded to hop back to the pier. No wonder they left her behind, what a weak blonde.

Back in the water, Lucy was still halfway submerged. What a jerk. He'll never see what's coming to him; Lucy then grabbed one of her golden keys from her chain and opened a gate.

Laxus came back to the wooden posts a minute later completely soaked by a huge wave that came out of nowhere earlier, and he had a sneaking suspicion that it was the fault of a certain blonde.

"You're gonna regret this!" He yelled in no particular direction, the blonde had disappeared from the water.

"Not if you can't catch me!" The culprit sprinted past him, with him chasing after her.

"Come back here Bunny!!" Laxus groaned annoyed at this game of chase.

She turned around to look at him, her eyes shining, "So slow!" Which only ticked off Laxus more.

It was quite the spectacle. Seeing one of the most powerful mages of Fairy Tail soaking wet and chasing an equally wet mage across the town.

Soft steps approached the bedroom, and he soon felt a dip in the bed. Small hands touched his face, and fingertips danced across the skin. She was still humming the tune from before.

Laxus reached up and pulled her into the bed, wrapping his arms around her, eyes still closed.

"Hey!" Lucy said, her voice muffled against his shirt. Laxus felt her smile, and she relaxed in his embrace.

"I finished breakfast."

"Can we just stay in bed all day?" He cracked a single eye open.

"Lazy ass." Lucy laughed, and she stood up from the bed. Lucy started to walk to the bathroom, and she began taking off her shirt and undressing, her clothes strewn across the floor.

"Trying to give me a show? Because that is a surefire way of getting me up." Laxus grinned, turned to face the blonde beauty.

"Anytime I'm around you; I'm the show." Lucy said teasingly, stepping into the tiled room.

"Want to join?" Her voice carried through the room, a gentle sound, a little teasing.

"Did you need to ask?"

***

"You aren't worried about Team Natsu?" The steam became thick in the small glossy bathroom.

"You know I can beat him in seconds." She reached for the knob to turn up the heat on the shower.

"I'm worried Natsu will steal your heart and break it again." His eyes bore into hers.

She reached her hands up and cupped her hands around his face, "Please", she smiled, "There's nothing to steal because you've already taken it."

He kissed her.

***

"We should have stayed at home instead; it would have been more fun." Laxus smiled, showing his fangs, his arm snaking around her waist. Lucy and Laxus had quickly finished their morning shower, much to Laxus' disappointment, and they had headed to the guild.

"Laxus!" She exclaimed, swatting his arm away, "We're almost at the guild anyway. We're taking the back entrance directly to the second floor." She began skipping ahead, her feet dancing across the ground, a gold bracelet brushing against her ankle.

"Avoiding someone?" Laxus raised an eyebrow.

"Naturally." Unfortunately, a troubling mage had been waiting for the entrance all morning it seemed.

"Lucy." Her name was called the instant she stepped foot into the guild. Lucy rolled her eyes. Of course someone would catch them entering.

"Erza?" She instantly recognized the requip mage leaning against the wall hallway.

"You will not fight Natsu." She said, looking at Lucy in the eyes, emotionless.

"I won't kill him, probably." Lucy said smiling a little, her eyes glinting as she walked towards the scarlet mage.

"We need him for missions soon. Another important mission." Erza said curtly.

"Aw, is the poor little Titania worried I'll knock out her little dragon?" Lucy said teasingly, lightly touching the girl's shoulder. Erza stiffened.

"I'll take good care of him, don't worry." Lucy flashed a smile at the stern face.

Erza remained silent.

"Laxus, let's go." Lucy addressed the lightning mage who was standing in the doorway, silently observing the exchange, "It seems she doesn't have anything left to say." Lucy smugly smiled at Erza and headed to the job board for the S class mages. Laxus followed her, and smiled at Erza as he walked past her.

Lucy observed the board in front of her. There were three options today, all of them were three day to five day jobs. The first flyer described a monster that only appeared during the night and savagely tore humans from the village near its cave apart. The second flyer was an escort job for a king's family. The third flyer was an item finding mission on top of a wintery mountain that was overtaken by rabid wolves.

"Let's do the one with the nighttime monster." Laxus suggested.

"Alright, nice reward too. 2,000,000 Jewels." Lucy was excited, doing a job would also be more training for her and it would allow her to get her mind off of things.

***

Erza reentered Master's office. All the eyes in the room snapped to her, awaiting news.

"They left." Erza said. As fast as all the eyes looked at her, the jaws that dropped in the room were even faster.

"You couldn't convince them?!" Gray exclaimed.

"Of course they couldn't." Mirajane sighed, "Lucy is too headstrong."

Natsu was nervous. The anxiety emanating from everyone in the world weighed his mood as well. They were nakama...right? Thoughts were running through his head a mile a minute.

"Do you still like Lucy, Natsu?" Lisanna asked, speaking up for the first time. The room quieted; it was a question that was still burning in everyone's minds.

"I... What do you mean? I just.." Words failed to emit from Natsu's mouth.

"They're engaged." Erza stated blatantly, causing shock to erupt from everyone in the room. Gasps and murmurs flew through the small office, as well as looks of disbelief.

"Engaged?!" Natsu's eyes widened, and Happy had abruptly stopped his fluttering to hear this sudden revelation.

"Mated. They're mated. Technical terms Erza. The mark." Gajeel grunted, more to himself than to everyone else.

"Dragon Slayers mark their chosen ones. Usually it's a small mark on their body, but some dragon slayers and their mates have a connection so strong a physical manifestation of their love appears." Erza said with a steady voice.

"Her anklet?" Levy quipped, "She never takes it off." Gajeel patted her blue hair.

"You're right, that flimsy chain reeks of Laxus, but it is subtle enough that only dragon slayers should be able to detect it. Erza?" Gajeel looked questioningly at Erza.

"Half dragon." Master said quietly, "She is half. Erza's sense are stronger than even a dragon slayer's." Everyone shuffled around uncomfortably, some showing blatant shock.

"Does Lucy know?" Gray asked Master.

"I do not believe so, she probably thinks it is a lucky anklet." Master muttered.

There was a silence.

"Dismissed. Reconvene in a week before the duel." Master ended the meeting. A few mages stayed behind to discuss the competition.

"Why couldn't I sense that they were mated?" Natsu wondered aloud.

"You were probably too distracted." Gajeel shook his head, grinning a little.

***

Two days before the duel

"Wahhh! That was a good mission!" Lucy's voice sounded like bells in the wind as she stretched her arms above her head as they got off the train. Laxus smiled at her as he followed her from behind, admiring the wispy blonde. As they started along the cobble road, Laxus had a fun idea come into his mind.

Speeding up his pace, Laxus quickly sweeped Lucy off of her feet and lifted her up onto his shoulders. Lucy began screeching, "Laxus!!" She gripped some of his pale hair, "I'm not a child!" Despite her protests, Lucy began laughing along as Laxus sped down towards their apartment.

Their apartment was located near the center of Magnolia. It was actually behind a concealed door on the seventh floor of the Tierney Apartment building. Tierney, the owner, had let Laxus and Lucy live there for free because they had saved him from a ghastly murder one year back, free of charge. It was a quaint little five room place; two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, and living room. It was sparsely decorated, but Lucy had put little plants and mementos of their time together around the place. The pale curtains let the fainting light of the setting sun stream through, of course, from the outside these windows weren't visible.

"Laxus!" Lucy laughed as he set her down in their apartment, her long pigtails waved behind her.

"Yes blondie?" Laxus smirked. Lucy huffed and smiled, but said nothing. She took off her backpack and placed it on the table, as she opened it, jewels spilled out onto the wooden surface.

"Can we eat Mirajane's food? Eating nothing but stew for five days has me throwing up." Laxus said as he opened the refrigerator, welcomed by the empty chill.

"First we have to get groceries, and then I want to buy some more winter clothes since it is almost winter..." Lucy began listing the things she needed.

"It is almost the Grand Magic Games as well." Laxus stated, "Do you want to enter?"

"...and you need more deoder- Grand Magic Games?" Lucy stuttered, "You want to enter? You know we could crush those kids in a heartbeat, what fun is that for either side?"

"Good, because we were offered the job of being honored guests." Laxus turned around and faced Lucy and held up an official looking document.

"Honored guests? You mean..." Lucy's eyebrows began to raise.

"I mean we are going to be the ones to get free tickets, seats, place to live while we're there, and everything will be provided for us. Also, we'll get a council with the king, which we're-"

"Obviously denying." They both said unanimously; they both shared a smile.

It was known that the king was trying to recruit powerful mages to become loyal puppy dogs to him, and the Heart of Lightning was his next target.

Laxus leaned against the counter, "Do you want to attend? It might be a bit of a bore, we could just decline, but pop in from time to time."

Lucy nodded, "That sounds way more fun." She eyed Laxus, winking.


	4. The Storm

How powerful could she be, Happy?" Natsu frowned in concentration.

They were sitting at the bar at the guild, which was empty save Team Natsu. The festival before the battle had just begun, and everyone was attending.

"Well, there's no time to think about that now is there?" Erza sighed, as she got up and began walking to the door, "I'll be in the audience." Gray nodded at Natsu and followed suit.

"Lucy-chan is very kind." Wendy said thoughtfully. Carla was sitting on the bar, reading a novel.

"She seems a lot different than I remember her." Natsu looked at his empty cup.

"She's stronger. Physically and mentally." Wendy smiled, "I look up to her."

"But she's with Laxus. They're mated. Wendy, I should've been...I should've been her mate." Natsu gripped the glass cup.

"You left her behind for five years, Natsu. Did you expect her to sit and wait for you?" Wendy shook her head, "She found someone who held her up and supported her, and never left her...You weren't that person for her."

"I can be though, I definitely can." Natsu said, trying to convince himself.

"But she already has that person, she doesn't need you" Wendy said, almost pitifully, "You could still be her friend though."

***

1 Hour before the Duel

"Ready?" They were on the roof of the guild, observing the festivities.

"How should I go about it? End it quickly or drag it out?" Lucy asked, waving her keys around absentmindedly.

"Do what you do best." Laxus was laying on the roof, his arms supported his head as he gazed at the clouds. Suddenly, Lucy's face leaned down very close to his. "How may I help you?"

"I'm about to fight my former teammate, best friend, and former crush." Lucy said, her breath tickling his nose.

"So?" Laxus moved his head closer to Lucy's and kissed her.

Lucy smiled.

***

The crowds surrounded the arena, every seat was filled, and Natsu was standing in the arena...alone.

"Where is Lucy?" Happy fluttered around. The clouds had become dark and stormy, and thunder sounded in the distance. Suddenly, lightning came down from the clouds, and struck the arena, and Lucy appeared at that sudden spot. As if the lightning brought her to the earth...

"Hey guys!" Lucy quipped cheerfully. The crowd roared at the grand entrance, Lucy grinned, then turned to Natsu and held out her hand to shake his.

Natsu shaked her hand, "You could've fried me with that lightning strike."

"I don't want you to die before, but after the duel." Lucy flashed him her white smile.

Master walked up to the two mages in the center of the arena, "You both know the rules to a duel, but I'll reiterate just in case. The duel ends when the other gives up, too injured to continue, or the time limit is reached, which is one hour for this duel. The one other rule is that there is no breaking out of the arena, even though that will be impossible once the shield is put up. Agreed?" Both Natsu and Lucy nodded. "Good." Master exited the arena, and the shield was put in place. One minute until the duel was to start.

"DId you have fun wherever you went?" Lucy asked Natsu, her large brown eyes staring into his.

52 seconds.

"Luce, I'm sorry." Natsu blurted out, "I'm sorry that we le-"

"Left me? I know, I was too weak for an intel gathering mission. I understand." Lucy said sarcastically as she began pacing around Natsu, looking at the crowd.

"No Lucy you don't understand, it was just that your skills weren't..." Natsu trailed off.

45 seconds.

"But it is actually fine." Lucy said, looking at back at Natsu as she continued her circular walking.

30 seconds.

"There were so many times where I wish you were there Luce, so many times!" Natsu said, almost pleading for forgiveness.

19 seconds.

"I'm actually glad you left me behind Natsu." Lucy said softly, as she stopped walking, ending in the original spot she landed at the arena in.

9 seconds.

"You what?"

"I became so much stronger because of it." Lucy smiled.

5 seconds.

"Luce..." Natsu was at a loss for words.

The timer dinged, and Master's voice boomed over the arena "Duel start!". Natsu, startled by the sudden noise, almost had forgotten that they were dueling.

"Evidently more clever than you still." Lucy smirked, as she snapped her fingers.

Natsu fell to the ground.

The audience gasped.

"Evidently Natsu was too oblivious to notice that Lucy had been preparing to entrap him during the countdown the entire time, our Lucy is too good!" The announcer roared, the audience followed suit, applause boomed across the arena.

"What was that?" Gray asked, his widening. The rest of Team Natsu was sitting in the stands, accompanied by Cana, who Master had assigned to help the team get back into the swing of things.

"Some trap...an illusion?" Erza wondered aloud.

"Definitely just Aries." Cana said, munching on some chips.

"Sheep girl?!" Gray yelled, surprised.

"Which I would say is still one of her weakest spirits...maybe Virgo is actually." Cana said, examining her cards in one hand.

"Why do you know all this Cana?" Erza glanced at the card mage.

"Because I'm her friend, I don't know about you." She crunched a chip between her teeth.

Meanwhile, Natsu was stuck on the ground, unable to move. His muscles were relaxed, and he had no control. He was panicking...a lot.

"What did you do to me?!" Natsu groaned, wriggling on the ground uselessly.

"Just Aries..." A tinkling voice said from...above him. Natsu snapped his head up, and he saw a girl with long pink hair, auburn curled horns, and a wide grin. She was dressed in a thin orange wool dress that ended mid thigh, but she was covered from knees down in a matching set of paler orange socks, and paired with little black tap shoes. Her hair was in soft curls, that bounced off of her shoulders, and her bangs were wispy. She was coming out from an opened spirit gate, halfway in the mortal world and halfway in the spirit world?!

"How?" Natsu was dumbfounded by the sight.

"You can go Aries, I can handle him by myself." Lucy grinned at her spirit.

"So I was just for show?" Aries whined, "You could've beaten him in the first second. You know you didn't need me at all, I was just at my tea party." Aries huffed, and closed the portal on her own.

Lucy smiled at the empty space where the portal had been, then walked closer to Natsu, and squatted down so that their faces were almost touching. He could smell her, but it wasn't her new jasmine and vanilla...she had switched it back to her citrus scent, the one that he had labeled as hers. It was a ploy, he knew it, but he breathed in her scent again, comforted by this familiarity. However, it was still overshadowed by that musk that wasn't his.

"Smell something you like?" Lucy bared her teeth at Natsu. Her breath smelled sweet.

"Who are you?" Natsu asked, bewildered, his head filled with her scent.

"So, you have two options for this duel. You can walk out now, or we can fight until the other is unconscious. I assume, your teammates would prefer the former?" Lucy said calmly.

"You want me to back out? And humiliate myself? You're insane." Natsu scoffed, tearing his eyes away from her and to the crowds that watched the exchange intently.

Lucy stood up and procured a vial, seemingly out of thin air, and sprinkled some of its contents over Natsu's body, and he instantly could feel his muscles again, albeit extremely sore.

"Hey! This is a disadvantage!" Natsu said, standing up, visibly agitated.

"That touch from Aries would have paralyzed you for weeks, be grateful I didn't leave you like that. Muscle soreness is but a simple price to pay." Lucy shrugged, "Come at me when you're ready." She had walked a considerable distance away from Natsu as he had struggled to get up, a good dueling distance now.

The crowd held its breath. Natsu and Lucy's conversation had been heard by every single spectator, since an amplifying spell had been placed within the arena station, so that any word exchanged could be heard. The air was extremely tense.

Natsu was disorientated.

Lucy was calm.

Every lacrima television was watching this match in all of Fiore and beyond.

***

Sometimes, time slows to an infinitely impossible snail's pace. The world blurs, and only colors can fly pass eyes and sounds become murmurs. This is the feeling Natsu got, as he leaned back and began to blow fire out from his mouth, and to the blonde in front of him.

"Is he okay? What is he even doing?" Wendy asked Erza, concerned.

In everyone else's eyes, Natsu had leaned back, pursed his lips, and done nothing, no fire.

The arena was silent, except for a laughing Lucy.

"This battle is over. Dragneel is incapacitated, unless we want a deathmatch." Lucy addressed Master, who was observing the confrontation in a floating booth above the arena. A large clamor began in the arena, upset at the lack of a true match. Everyone thought that the famous Salamander would've been an ideal match.

"HEY! You can't do that, not without my affirmation." Natsu's vision cleared a little, but he was still stumbling. The audience shouted in agreement.

"This is over Natsu, don't try to fight it." She turned back a little to stare into his fiery eyes.

"You were never this strong!" He spat out, exasperated, but his eyes widened the moment the word left his mouth. The stadium silenced. "Wait Luce-"

"What?" The blonde's tone was icy, and she slowly turned around to face him. Her eyes seared into his, but he could not see past its dark sheen. Her boots clicked on the ground as she got closer, and closer, but he was rooted to his spot, unable to move. "You're stuck standing there, Dragneel, your powers are useless, because I've disabled your origin, and you won't be able to reactivate. I think you should consider who has the upper hand here, Dragneel." She said his name with such malice that everyone in the arena recoiled at the poison in her words.

"Luce I didn't mean." He was panicking.

"Death would be too good for you." Lucy laughed, but there was no joy in her smile.

"I'd rather-" She reached her hand forward.

"Let you suffer-" She clasped her hand around his neck.

"Slowly." She gripped her hands, her fingers digging into his skin. Lucy's eyes were flashing orange. His lips began turning blue.

"L-L-Luc-" Natsu tried to speak, but his throat was restricted.

"You will never beat me- not now, not ever. It is I, who has surpassed you. Weak Lucy. That's your Lucy. Not me." She released him, and he collapsed to the floor, clutching his neck and breathing heavily.

She took a few steps back, "I was nothing to you Dragneel." Her expression was fierce and malice was in her voice, "And now you are nothing to me." She rose her arms and turned her back onto him.

"End Heartfilia and Dragneel. Dragneel Status: Incapacitated." Lucy announced, and the barrier around the arena went down. And before anyone could react, lightning suddenly struck the arena, and she disappeared. The crowd erupted into a frenzy.

***

Instantly, Fairy Tail converged onto the collapsed form of Natsu.

"Natsu are you okay?"

"Natsu that was so lame."

"Natsu what even happened?"

The pink haired mage laid there, unmoving. He was angry, but he didn't know why. He was angry that he came back expecting everything normal to happen, but it didn't.

"Natsu...why are you crying?"


	5. Aftermath

"Quite a korean drama." Laxus said, he was sitting and leaning against a chimney. He had observed the entire match from the roof of the guild.

Lucy sat down next to him. "Do you remember when we first made this?" Lucy motioned to...seemingly nothing.

"Made what?" He looked at her, but when he looked at her, he did a double take. She was crying, but she wasn't wiping her tears, just letting them fall. He held out his arms, and she fell into them, her head leaning into his chest.

"This place." She mumbled into his shirt, her old scent filled his nose, and he relaxed as he looked around their space. Three years ago they had created a pocket dimension on top of the roof of Fairy Tail, a mirror dimension. It replicated the real world exactly, and they could see people from the real world walking. But if they ever reached out to touch anyone who came onto the roof, they would simply phase through them. Since this dimension was only accessible to Laxus and Lucy, it was a completely private and sacred place, just for them.

3 Years Ago

"A pocket dimension?" Laxus scoffed, his arms crossed, "You think you could create one? You could barely craft that new health potion I showed you the other day."

"Come on!!! That health potion was an ancient recipe, no one uses those anymore." Lucy whined, her hands on her hips.

Laxus eyed Lucy. Her hair was short, she cut it soon after they began training together. Half of her hair was tied up behind her head, and she...she looked adorable. He could feel her determination emanating from her form.

"Well, where would you even want to make it? Do you even know what they are?" Laxus studied Lucy, monitoring her expressions.

"Yes! As a matter of fact, Laxus, I studied up on this topic with any book in the guild library that had 'pocket or mirror dimension' in it, so I am very well informed." Her nose was upturned; she was proud.

"I want it to be the roof of the guild!" She exclaimed, excited. Laxus cocked an eyebrow.

"Why the roof? Wanting to see something from there?"

"I want to...be able to see them when they come." She drifted off, opening her heart a little.

"They wouldn't be able to see you in the mirror dimension, Bunny..." He scooted closer to her. They were situated on the railing of the second floor of the guild; their legs dangling off the edge. The guild was dark, and only illuminated by the skylight from the roof. It was long past the evening, but well before dawn, and they had been talking for hours. Hours and hours of...nothing really, but it felt right.

"I know...I don't know if I want them to see me." She sighed, shifting even closer to the dark mage.

Laxus looked up through the skylight, "Lucy..." He turned to look at her on his left. She had snuggled close to him against his black sweater, swaddled by the blankets she had brought and his warmth. Her eyes were gleaming.

"Let's go make that pocket dimension, okay? Not for them, but for us."

"Okay..." Her lips turned up into a slight smile, "For us."

***

"You're going to have to go out eventually, talk to press maybe?" Laxus grinned a little, trying to make her smile despite her free flowing tears.

"I'm not sad Laxus! I'm glad I did it!" She brushed her tears to the side. "I'm happy that I let it out."

"Why don't we go grab some pizza and go home?" Laxus suggested.

"Yes!!!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes dazzling, "But first let me do something. Do you have it?"

Laxus reached into his pocket, and procured a shimmering box. "Are you sure? He's still at the arena I think."

She took the container, and began walking towards the edge of the roof, "I've got this babe." She smiled at Laxus.

After the battle, Fairy Tail had become open to Magnolia, and a party in Lucy's honor was held. However, Team Natsu had stayed in the arena, watching over a distraught Natsu. Lucy floated from her mirror dimension, landing gracefully on the fence bordering the arena. It was dark, and a mist hanged over the empty space, a gloom in the atmosphere.

"What do you want Heartfilia?" Erza was the first to notice her. Lucy noted Erza's menacing tone.

Lucy walked closer, "I need the rest of you to stand down, I'm only here for Dragneel." She lifted her arm and with a single wave, she teleported the rest of the team back into the guild, leaving the form of Natsu on the ground with her. He was sitting on the grass, looking absentmindedly at nothing.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked softly, sitting next to him, her hand clutching the box. Natsu looked at her.

"How are you?" His brow furrowed, focusing on her facial features.

Lucy was taken aback, she wasn't expecting that, "I'm doing well Natsu...I really am."

"What do you have in your hand?" He motioned towards the box.

"You don't recognize it? This used to be yours. But..." She opened the box. Inside, she revealed a bright metal ring. It was thin, and little inscriptions were engraved onto the inside. She closed it and put the box in Natsu's hands, "I can't wear this anymore Natsu." Her voice was tinged with sadness.

Natsu didn't say anything, and he stared at the shimmering box. Lucy placed a comforting hand on Natsu for a while, before she walked away.

When she left, Natsu opened the box and gingerly pulled the ring out of the box.

He read the engraving again, for the first time in five years: I love you.


End file.
